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Will this man be coddled by our justice system? It is situations such as this that that make me worry and wonder. I am so sick of these pedophiles and murderers having the protection they do. Who was there to protect the victims from HIM.

Will this man be coddled by our justice system? It is situations such as this that that make me worry and wonder. I am so sick of these pedophiles and murderers having the protection they do. Who was there to protect the victims from HIM.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Accused kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro, who police say kept Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive in his West Side home for a decade, pleaded not guilty this morning to 329 separate crimes, including two aggravated murder charges.

"All your life, all your love, all your hate, all your memory, all your pain, it was all the same thing. It was all the same dream—a dream that you had inside a locked room. A dream about being a person.” - True Detective

Castro, 52, didn't speak during the arraignment, which lasted less than a minute. He stood motionless, dressed in an orange jail outfit, and looked toward the floor as the plea was entered.

The grand jury charged Castro with two counts of aggravated murder related to one act, saying he purposely caused the unlawful termination of one of the women's pregnancies. He also was indicted on 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felonious assault and one count of possession of criminal tools.

The 142-page indictment covers only the period from August 2002, when the first victim disappeared, to February 2007. Prosecutors say the investigation will continue and they are leaving the door open to pursuing a death penalty case against Castro.

How can you plead NOT GUILTY when the entire world saw video of the victims escaping from YOUR dungeon?

From the news conference:

After the hearing, attorney Craig Weintraub, who also is representing Castro, said some of the charges against Castro "cannot be disputed," but that Castro needed to plead not guilty for the process to proceed.

Weintraub said the defense team is seeking a resolution that would eliminate the need for a trial. But that would likely require prosecutors to drop the aggravated murder charges and the possibility of a death sentence.

"We are very sensitive to the emotional strain and the impact that a trial would have on the women, their families and this community," he said.